Kukla's Korner Hockey

On Tuesday, the Vancouver Canucks finally announced a decision that had been made two months ago.

Ryan Walter, who was GM Mike Gillis’s hand-picked appointment for the coaching staff, had been terminated and replaced by Newell Brown. Walter becomes the fall guy for the Canucks’ inglorious exit from the playoffs. Brown steps in. And this old world keeps spinning round.

Right? Well, that’s the way the Canucks and Gillis would want it. But there are a few troubling questions which linger over Walter’s dismissal, just as there are questions lingering over the sudden departure of Tom Larscheid. Unfortunately, you can’t get anyone to go on the record regarding these matters, although Walter did post a statement on his website in which he thanked everyone in the organization except Gillis.

Sources familiar with both situations paint a picture which doesn’t exactly flatter the Canucks or Gillis. We don’t know if the whole story will ever get out—something about buyouts and confidentiality clauses tending to impede the free flow of information.